Paella

Tonight is Carlos’ 33rd birthday.

We are having quite a few guests over tonight and my mainstay for an easy, delicious party meal is the famous Spanish paella.

Easy you say? Yes, easy. Paella is known for being a complicated dish involving just the right technique and a little je ne sais quoi handed down through multiple generations. But break down the recipe and it’s fifty thousand steps and you have rice cooked with spices, a combination of meats, seafood and veggies. That uber special technique? It’s just a layer of burnt rice on the bottom.

Ok, ok so in order to have a truly flavorful dish, certain steps are important- like adding the spices are the right times for instance. But paella is a staple dish in Valencia, Spain. It wasn’t originally designed to impress party guests. It was designed to feed a family in one dish. Paella is traditionally eaten with wooden spoons directly from the pan for goodness sake! There is no truly authentic paella, though most agree it ain’t paella without saffron and rice. Authentic paella is made in the most efficient way possible, using whatever equipment works best for you and your kitchen. Just make sure to burn the bottom and use lots of saffron!

Buen provecho!

Tonight I shall make cheese…

…and I plan to document the process.

There are some super exciting things happening these days involving goats, chickens and alpacas. As such, I am committed to learning as much as possible about how to go about using the products from each animal. I’m pretty much good with the chickens- crack the egg, stir, season, yum, but all I can make from goats milk so far is butter. Alpacas? No. I don’t know how to spin their wool into a useable string. That is next on the list. Tonight I will be making cheese- fresh mozzarella from goats milk which I intend to purchase somewhere. Not sure where yet. I have already acquired the rennet and will shortly purchase the citric acid (or lemons) that I need as well as some cheesecloth and a dairy thermometer. You’d think I’d already have one seeing as we have a bakery. Oh well.

In my previous posts, I’ve mentioned that I frequently make my own butter. Several of you have asked for a video showing said process, which I will be shooting tonight, along with a video of my cheese making antics.

Stay tuned!

Bienmesabe…tastes good to me!

So today’s culinary challenge is bienmesabe. Bienmesabe is a (surprise!) traditional Venezuelan cake with Spanish origins. There are several variations, with the original being based on almond cream and pistachios…I think. The Venezuelan version is made with coconut. It consists of two layers of sponge cake filled with a coconut cream and simple syrup and topped with meringue. It’s supposedly a relatively complicated recipe. We shall see. Here is the recipe I will follow, compliments of www.cookingalong.com

Sponge Cake:

• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 cup milk
• 50 gr (about 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, cooled and mixed with the milk

Coconut Cream

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 liter coconut milk (2 1/2 400ml cans)

Simple Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Topping

• 6 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• cinnamon powder or toasted coconut to finish

First we make the sponge cake. Turn the oven at 350. Butter and flour a 9x13x2 rectangular pan. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks, then add the sugar little by little and the yolks one by one.  In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the eggs mixture with a wooden spoon folding delicately so the eggs wont lose the air. Add the butter and milk mixture. Be careful not to over mix. Add to the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool.

While the cake cools prepare the cream filling. Mix the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick. Heat the coconut milk until almost boiling point (be careful not to let it boil over!). Carefully mix the egg mixture with the hot milk little by little. Once all the milk is mixed into the eggs return the cream to the pan and cook in a medium heat stirring constantly until it thickens for about 5 minutes. Set it aside covered to cool down.

Prepare the simple syrup. Heat the water and sugar until all sugar is dissolved. Off the heat add the rum and let it cool.

Cut the sponge cake in half lengthwise, so you have two layers of cake. To assemble divide the cream in three parts. Place the first layer of cream in your serving plate (it’s usually served in a rectangular glass plate) add a layer of cake and top with simple syrup enough to cover (this will keep the cake moist and flavorful). Add another layer of cream and another of cake. Finish with simple syrup and cream. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator. When ready to serve prepare the meringue topping.

Meringue topping. Start beating the egg whites, when they start to form bubbles add the salt and cream of tartar (this will stabilize them). Beat until soft peaks then start to add the sugar little by little until glossy and stiff peaks form, being careful not to over beat the meringue. Preheat the broiler. Top the Bienmesabe with the meringue and broil it a few seconds or 1 minute until the meringue is golden brown.

Guasacaca has nothing to do with caca

So my cousin’s husband quit his job last week and naturally, we are going to celebrate with a barbecue. Everyone is bringing food and drinks and it looks like its going to be a rather gourmet barbecue due to my foodie family. Since I always like to incorporate my beloved Venezuelan cuisine into any family gathering, I am making the traditional Venezuelan barbecue sauce called “Guasacaca.” There are many versions of this delicious sauce. Some have avocado, some don’t. Some have tomato, some don’t. Since I couldn’t remember which one my local empanada stand used to serve, I called all of the women in my Venezuelan family. They were divided as well, although most said “con aguacate, sin tomate.”

So I went to the supermarket in search of the ingredients. Green pepper, aji dulce, corn oil, cilantro, onion, parsley and of course, avocado.

Surprise! No ripe avocados. Ok…what should I do? I bought the ingredients anyway and headed home. Since I always try to justify what I make as traditional, even if it’s not I googled “Guasacaca venezolana tradicional sin aguacate” which means “Traditional Venezuelan guasacaca without avocado.”

I found one that claimed it was the most traditional of the traditional because it was the one you found in ketchup-like squeezy bottles at empanada stands and arepa vendors. Here is the recipe:

1/2 bunch of cilantro, roots and lower stems removed
1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves
1/2 Purple Onion, quartered
1/2 Large green bell pepper, seeded and deveined
4 aji dulce, halved (sweet pepper ) *optional*
4 garlic cloves, whole
6 tbs. Corn Oil
3 tbs. Red wine vinegar
1 tbs. Salt
Pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water

Put all ingredients in blender and add 1/4 cup water. Blend on coarse setting for 20 seconds, stir, then repeat 2 more times.
Add additional 1/4 cup of water little by little. You want a creamy and not watery consistency with very very small chunks. It should be able to go through a “ketcup-like sqeezy bottle” (technical term)

Use on top of anything grilled, in arepas, squeeze into cooked empanadas, or use as a dip for plantanitos. Add 2 very ripe avocados and blend even more coarsely for a different style guasacaca.

Buen provecho!